The Debrief

SDCC'08 BOOM! BOOTH #2543

2008-07-18T21:05:00.001-07:00

I'll be running the BOOM! booth (#2543) all week during San Diego Comic-Con. Stop by and get your copies of LEFT ON MISSION signed, or better yet, buy the trade and I'll sign it on the spot! :P

See you all there!

Best,

Chip

LEFT ON MISSION TPB Giveaway Contest

2008-03-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

Over at the DOUBLE O SECTION Blog, they are giving away 2 free copies of the LEFT ON MISSION TPB! Go here for more info! DOUBLE O SECTION is a daily must read for those that love the espionage genre!

LEFT ON MISSION - “...stands up with Clancy and Ludlum...”

2008-03-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

The great reviews just keep coming in for my book. I am continually gobsmacked/flabbergasted/humbled by the very positive reviews LEFT ON MISSION keeps getting. I thought I would share some of the most recent reviews:

“A page turner that stands up with the best Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum have to offer but works on many different levels. It is frothy and deep at the same time... LEFT ON MISSION is a spy thriller that is both entertaining and engaging. If you like the genre, or just good comic books, you should pick this one up.” - PopMatters

“If there's one series I wish I had spent more time talking or writing about, it's LEFT ON MISSION... Chip Mosher's story of a former spy brought back into the game to find his ex-partner/ex-lover is a tight and well told story. Francesco Francavilla's naturalistic artwork nicely compliments the story. This was one of the strongest and most original releases out of BOOM! Studios last year.” - The Secret of Wednesday's Haul

“Writer Chip Mosher delivers a script that's subdued and methodical, quiet, somewhat romantic, with serious moments of intensity.” - Chud.com

LEFT ON MISSION is the most important entry in the spy genre since Queen & Country.“ - Newsarama

So now LEFT ON MISSION has been compared to Fleming, Le Carré, Ludlum and Clancy. So either what I wrote is pretty good, people don't get out much, or I have a ton of money to pay people to write good reviews. Which is it? Buy the book and decide for yourself! :P

Chip

Nominate LEFT ON MISSION

2008-02-21T07:39:00.001-08:00

Comic award season is here. If you'd like to nominate LEFT ON MISSION for a prestigious EAGLE AWARD, I won't stop you.

Go here: http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/Nominate.asp

Categories you might consider:

Favorite Newcomer Writer - Chip Mosher
Favorite Newcomer Artist - Francesco Francavilla
Favorite Colorist - Martin Thomas
Favorite Publisher - BOOM! Studios

If you are a comics professional and you want to nominate LEFT ON MISSION along with yourself for a HARVEY AWARD, I won't stop you either!

http://www.harveyawards.org/2008ballot/Harvey_2008_nom_ballot.pdf

After that, take a break and watch this awesome review of LEFT ON MISSION that aired on G4's ATTACK OF THE SHOW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwbU4PQsi0g

Thank You!

Chip Mosher
Writer & Creator
LEFT ON MISSION

Attack of the Show! reviews LEFT ON MISSION

2008-02-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Entertainment Weekly gives LEFT ON MISSION a “B” - Hells Yeah!

2008-01-27T16:28:00.000-08:00

Most comics I like get a grade “C” or below at Entertainment Weekly. The reviewers there are hard to please, let me tell you. That said, I am excited to get a “B” from them. Here is an excerpt:

“FOR FANS OF Casino Royale... writer Mosher keeps matters zipping along at a furious pace, while the result is handsomely illustrated by Francesco Francavilla. Grade: B” - Entertainment Weekly

Eve of the TPB launch

2008-01-22T21:54:00.001-08:00

Well, the TPB comes out tomorrow. Weird. It really is done, huh? Wow!

Chip

Trade Paperback just added to front page!

2008-01-21T15:51:00.001-08:00

Just did my last major site upgrade. Put the trade paperback on the front page and re-flowed the site a bit. Sprinkled in some quotes with the body text for the issues. And cleaned up some code here and there. Amazing that when I first put this up over a year ago, this is what I had always planned the final site to look like. Now, with two days before the trade hits the direct market -- wow, it's done!

Enjoy!

Chip

LEFT ON MISSION TPB banner

2008-01-01T20:11:00.001-08:00

Here's the new banner I made in preparation for the TPB coming out. What do you think?

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a great year. It was amazing to see LEFT ON MISSION become a reality. And I appreciate all of you out there who have played a role, whether as someone behind the scenes or those of you that bought copies off the stands. THANK YOU.

Here's to a great 2008. Happy New Year!

Chip

LEFT ON MISSION TPB Street Date: Jan. 23rd!

2007-12-19T17:31:00.000-08:00

Street date for the LEFT ON MISSION trade paperback is Jan. 23rd. That's for comic stores. The trade will be available in the mass market in March.

So check this out, LEFT ON MISSION is in the Top 20 Hottest Graphic Novels on TFAW.com!

Not bad. Not bad at all!

Have a great Winter Holiday!

Chip

LEFT ON MISSION “... reminiscent of Le Carré or even Fleming...”

2007-12-08T14:46:00.001-08:00

DOUBLE O SECTION, the online source for all things espionage, had this to say about LEFT ON MISSION:

“...reminiscent of Le Carré or even Fleming... but the action is more in keeping with Bourne or Bond...”

Another humbling review. I am a huge fan of both Le Carré and Fleming, and have a particular affinity with Le Carré's work. I really tried to make LEFT ON MISSION a thinking man's action-packed thriller. I really am floored to be compared to such people like Le Carré. A friend once told me he thought LEFT ON MISSION was THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD for the War-on-Terror generation. Which I thought was a very cool observation. One my ego won't let me argue too much with! ;)

Of course, the War-on-Terror generation is one that is as familiar with graphic novels as the Cold War generation was with novels - so I thought that was quite apt. And of course, Francesco Francavilla did an incredible job of realizing this tale graphically - aided in a sublime way by colorist Martin Thomas. With this many talented people on board, I couldn't really lose with this project, could I?

More to come...

Chip Mosher
Creator/Writer
LEFT ON MISSION

LEFT ON MISSION “Better then James Bond, makes Bourne almost boring...” Comics And...

2007-11-18T12:52:00.001-08:00

Comics And... flatters us with praise in another great review of LEFT ON MISSION!

The best mini-series of the year ends with this issue. Hands down this was the best short story produced in the comic book world in 2007. Better then James Bond, makes Bourne almost boring...For 2007 – No one did a better mini-series then Chip Mosher (writer) and Francesco Francavilla (artist).“ - Comics And...

Check out the 5 page preview they posted also!

Flattered and humbled,

Chip

Technorati Tags: Chip Mosher, Francesco Francavilla, Left On Mission

LEFT ON MISSION “...pulse-pounding...” - AICN have read in recent memory.“ - AICN

2007-11-14T18:21:00.001-08:00

Another great review of LEFT ON MISSION!

"... pulse-pounding... This is a book that knows when to shut up and give the action and doesn't hold back... one of the best spy thrillers I have read in recent memory." --AIN'T IT COOL NEWS

Kim Krizan for Final Draft

2007-10-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

The above ad of my wife has been running in a bunch of screenwriting magazines. I have been getting tons of email about it. The funniest was from a friend who said, “It's like the screenwriting industry's version of ”Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit.“

I is a lucky dude!

Chip

Proofing Issue #5 -DONE!

2007-10-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

I just proofed issue #5. Martin is working hard to get the colors done ASAP. The issue looks to be in stores November 7th if all goes well. It's basically over for me. It's weird. I started writing this in 2001. Scribblings in a notebook. I scribbled on and off through 2002. That became the meat of issue #2. I then wrote a draft of the story in earnest in early 2003. 50 pages of script. Summer of 2004 I decided to complete the freaking thing. I did that October 2004. 160 pages of script. Done. Another two years would pass until I got a publishing deal. In that time I lost friends over this project. I gained new friends. And I re-gained others. Without going in to the gory details - I can't begin to describe the trauma that surrounded this project. The same thing happened when I got married. Single friends who knew me as single didn't want me to know me as married. People who knew me a certain way - didn't want to know me as a creative. Weird. Life. Whatever. Done. I am done. It is finished. The trade comes out Decemeber. Mass market - March. I will have a book in Barnes and Noble. Wow. When I was a teenager I would talk all the time about the stories I would write. Though I didn't have the confidence to write them. As I got older, I talked less about wanting to be a writer. In 1990, I spoke at length about writing with Grant Morrison at SDCC 1990. He admonished me to live a little and start writing in my '30s - so I would have something to say. My first published work happens at age 34. I guess I am doing okay by that standard.

In 1986, I met Martin Thomas at a Larry Taylor Con in Houston, Texas. I had him color all my original art pieces I bought. I have Willingham pieces, Rude pieces, Sakai pieces all colored by Martin. He was the best man at my wedding 13 years later. 20 years later he is coloring a story I wrote - making Francesco Francavilla's miraculous line work sing! Amazing how it all works out, eh?

Thank you to Kim, my wife, for supporting me through the ups and downs. And to people like Martin and Shannon Wheeler and Neal Shaffer and Miles Gunter who believe in me and this project and sustained me when things got bad. To Nye Wright, who supported this project early and before it had a publisher. His work on the mini-comic helped get LOM to where it is now. To Sam, Megan and Guus for their interest. To all my new found friends - Mark, Piere, Matty G, Abhay, and the rest of the OTHER LA comics dinner. Jason Shawn Alexander for his early support. And to everyone out there who had a kind word. Special thanks to Ross and Andy at BOOM! I appreciate their sincere interest in my project - even after I bugged them to death to read the whole 160 page manuscript. THANKS GUYS. Thank you for believing in me and this book. And...thanks for the marketing gig. I guess they thought I did SOMETHING right with this thing, eh?

- well we still have issue 5 to go. So I better save some thanks for you the reader and all the reviewers that championed this book. I guess proofing the last issue made me need to say some stuff...

Thanks for stopping by...

Chip

"Fans of Burn Notice and The Bourne Ultimatum will find a lot to likehere." - Double O Section

2007-10-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Double O Section website is an incredible resource for all things espionage. From the latest DVDs to books and even our favorite medium of comics, the people behind Double O review them all

Today they grace us with this deft and glowing review of issue #4. Here are some excerpts:

“...Like in the best spy movies, writer Chip Mosher, artist Francesco Francavilla and colorist Martin Thomas (whose contributions still add immeasurably) take some time to let us explore this exotic setting. This has been a particular strength of this series since Issue 1, and once again Francavilla manages to evoke another well-selected thrilling location in beautiful detail. He gives us the visual, and Mosher gives us the smells, through Westfall’s instructive dialogue to Painter. Together, the creators do a great job of putting the reader in the heart of North Africa.

”...The story still churns along at a very brisk pace, but Mosher understands the importance of the set-up. From conveying a great sense of place to constructing a believable playing field for the eventual action to unfold upon, each issue of Left On Mission builds to a satisfying climax and another cliffhanger ending.

“...Fans of Burn Notice and The Bourne Ultimatum will find a lot to like here.” - Double O Section

Thanks guys!

“...spy fiction at its best.” - AICN on LEFT ON MISSION

2007-10-03T10:54:00.001-07:00

Check out this awesome review of the latest issue of LEFT ON MISSION #4:

“An edge-of-your-seat and afraid-to-turn-the-next page thriller...good 007/Jason Bourne style action... at a fever pitch. All in all, this is spy fiction at its best.” -- AIN'T IT COOL NEWS

Technorati Tags: BOOM! Studios, Chip Mosher, Francesco Francavilla, Left On Mission, Martin Thomas

“LEFT ON MISSION best mini-series of 2007” - Comics And...

2007-09-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Comics And... says:

“...you should love this book... this book has my vote for BEST MINI
SERIES OF 2007.”

“Chip [Mosher] has packed more story and plot into four issues of this book then most writers managed in a year long story or more. Francesco Francavilla is a terrific artist.”

Don't forget to order the LEFT ON MISSION TPB in this month's Previews:

LEFT ON MISSION TPB

LEFT ON MISSION TPB

by Chip Mosher & Francesco Francavilla and Martin Thomas
Finally, the sold-out, hard-to-find, critically acclaimed espionage thriller of 2007 is collected for the first time. See why Ain't It Cool News proclaimed this series “a must for fans of 007 and Sleeper.” Former agent Eric Westfall has been called out of his perfect, complete-with-wife-and-kid suburban retirement to stop a rogue agent from auctioning a stolen hard-drive on the black market for $50 million. Eric's mission - turn his target back into a loyal agent for the government, or kill her -- despite that the two of them were once lovers! Wending its way through some of the world's most exotic locales, Left On Mission provides non-stop excitement and intrigue. Collecting all 5 issues of the critically acclaimed limited series, Left On Mission is for fans of gritty, dark espionage thrillers like Casino Royale and The Bourne Identity!

SC, 6x9, 128pgs, FC SRP: $14.99 (OCT07 3358)

Issue #4 On Stands NOW!

2007-09-26T10:23:00.001-07:00

LEFT ON MISSION #4

Written by Chip Mosher
Drawn by Francesco Francavilla
Colors by Martin Thomas
$3.99, 24 pages, full color

Westfall reaches Morocco as he searches for Emma. Painter is there, hindering his every move. While Emma prepares to finally sell her information, Westfall desperately tries to stop her - and save her soul. The penultimate chapter in this spy-thriller!

Issue 3 Reviews

2007-09-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Comics Waiting Room

“Normally, at the third issue of five, you’d see a lot of stories pushing character development to the background, but Mosher makes this feel more important than just about anything else he could have thrown into the mix.”

Warren Peace Sings The Blues

“...I really liked the flashback scenes...which will probably inform the events of the next few issues. I can't wait to read them.”

Comics And...

“I can’t recommend this book anymore then I have, but if you are not reading this – get it. Chip Mosher has written a wonderful story that is part action flick, part spy story, part political and part romance. The pacing of the story has been spot on and the art has been perfect for this tale. I’m 90% sold on buying the trade on this book already.”

Colorist Slash Movie Reviewer

2007-09-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Interestingly enough, our colorist for LEFT ON MISSION, Martin Thomas, is part of a movie review site - THE SPILL - and reviews movies along with a couple of other guys as an animated character named “Leon.”

Check it out!

Chip

i-♥-sequential-art

2007-08-03T13:59:00.001-07:00

This missed people's radar pre-Comic-Con...

Anyone who is familiar with my comic writing debut, Left on Mission, will know that I am totally into putting in tons of “quiet moments” into my stories. Helped immensely by the majestic artwork of Francesco Francavilla and the gorgeous colors of Martin Thomas, I have been able to really put everything that I love about comics into Left on Mission.

http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/07/25/i-♥-sequential-art/...and I am pretty proud of stringing CEREBUS, G.I. JOE, KRIGSTEIN, and NEAL SHAFFER into one overall thought about sequential art. Pretty damn proud.Chip

How I Survived Comic-Con 2007

2007-08-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

Site Updated - Issue 4 Preview Pages and Cover Posted!

2007-07-22T15:14:00.001-07:00

Check out these amazing pages by Messrs. Francavilla and Thomas...just awesome. And Steph just brings it all together with the cover.

Also, updated the preview page so the trailer comes up first and enabled the shopping cart for all issues.

Enjoy!

Chip

PS: Is Left On Mission #1 (Cover A) sold out already? Who knew!