Coming in August from Desperado Studios will be an anthology over 300 pages showcasing the writing of Gary Reed. The anthology, OF SCENES AND STORIES, will feature many of Gary's short stories and also scenes from the many comics he has written over the years.
In addition to the stories and scenes, each will be preceded by a preface where Gary discusses the particular project, what his thought process was, and how it was to work with the artist involved in the project. More than just a collection of comic stories, it also provides a retrospective on Gary's long fruitful career.
"It's actually quite astounding just how much Gary has written," said Joe Pruett, publisher of Desperado Publishing, "and even more astounding is how good it is. I really think that Gary is one of the most under-appreciated writers in comics. His stories are powerful and thought provoking." Pruett said that the choice of selections was left up entirely to Gary on what to include.
Reed said he was also surprised by the amount of material. "When Joe and I first started talking about it, I thought it might be hard to come up with enough to fill up the book, but I had to cut out so much. There's probably enough for another book but I think that can wait awhile. It's a fun project though, getting a chance to discuss the various stories.
The format of the anthology will be the first in a series where writers can assemble stories and scenes and provide a back history on the process involved. "We look at it much like the Art Books we do (Art of Brian Bolland and the upcoming Art of P. Craig Russell) in that we get the thoughts behind the stories and how it all came together, " Pruett said. "Gary was a good first choice to kick off this format, not just because of our close association with him but because of the diversity of stories he's done and the incredible talent that he's worked with over the years."
Artists included in the anthology include: Guy Davis, Mark Bloodworth, Michael Gaydos, Vince Locke, Mike Perkins, Galen Showman, David Mack, Jim Calafiore, Michael Lark, Nate Pride, Patrick Zircher, Laurence Campbell, Chris Jones, and many others. Also included will be the never seen Beatles pages with artist R.G. Taylor, a project that was cast in limbo with the death of iBooks publisher, Byron Preiss.
The anthology, OF SCENES AND STORIES, will ship in early August and includes complete short stories and selected scenes from titles such as Deadworld, Baker Street, Raven Chronicles, Saint Germaine, and others. Running over 300 pages, it will retail for $19.95.
