001 Fresh From the BLACK MARKET

Exclusive RADIANT BLACK Cover Reveals, New LIMITED EDITION Foil Variants NOW AVAILABLE!

Hey there! Happy 2021! Welcome to BLACK MARKET News! I’m going to try to keep this first letter fairly short and sweet, as it’s getting late and I’m still working to finish an issue of Ultraman. But first off, why a newsletter? Well, while I’m not exactly early to the party, the truth is that I really love this format. Probably for the same reason I love a good letters column. When done right, both can be a way to build community and both can be a way to interact in a more specific and elegant way than social media could ever allow.

Second, with RADIANT BLACK revving up and all of us getting ready for the issue 1 release (more on that in a second), now felt like a really good time to pull the trigger on starting to build a more direct way to talk about projects, across mediums. 

2020 was a brutal year for me, as I’m sure it was for many of you. Unfortunately, the back half of 2019 wasn’t all that great for me, either. But, over the last year and a half, the one thing that helped me to hang on… was building. Characters. Stories. Universes. Pitches. Books. Podcasts. Films. Most of this building has been for things that I’m writing (or directing)… but not all. 

In 2018, I edited my first comic — the excellent SELF/MADE from Mat Groom, Eduardo Ferigato and Marcelo Costa. I enjoyed the experience so much that I started working with a few other creators, to help them as they work to bring their worlds to life, too.

So, yeah! There’s a decent amount of stuff going on over here, that I’ll be looking to chronicle.

And first up, is a little book called RADIANT BLACK.

I can confirm today that, yes, the book did indeed cross the 70,000 unit threshold. Which, is good. Really good. Marcelo, Michael, Becca and I are all very excited — if you’re reading this and you’ve pre-ordered a copy (or copies), thank you so much. Hell, even if you didn’t pre-order but you’re planning on giving the book a shot… thank you. This series is incredibly personal for me (which, I talk about in detail in the issue 1 letters column), though perhaps not for the reasons you might think. 

But in addition to coming from a rather personal place, the book is also just an awesome opportunity for Marcelo, Michael, Becca and I to do Really Cool Stuff. Stuff that excites us. That makes us laugh. That makes us smile.

And, that mantra absolutely carries over to BLACK MARKET News. I mean, what’s the point of having a black market if you can’t get the really good stuff?

So, to kick things off, we thought it might be fun to debut the covers for issue 3, right here! First up is our A cover, by Marcelo.

Next, is our B cover, by Becca Carey. Which pairs so well with that A cover…

Finally, our 1:25 incentive variant is by the always-spectacular Goñi Montes.

And speaking of Goñi, that’s actually a really great transition to our last Really Cool Thing of the night. 

In Pre-Covid times, we wanted to plan something really fun for RADIANT BLACK, to coincide with our convention appearances. But since it looks like we won’t be able to get to a show for quite a while, we’re going to try to bring a bit of the convention experience to your Inbox…

In addition to our standard covers for issue 1, we’ve decided to make a series of limited edition foil variants, on our 1:25 David Finch variant as well as our 1:50 Goñi Montes Helmet variant.

The David Finch Foil Variant is limited to 100 copies, signed by me and numbered, and the Goñi Montes Helmet variant is limited to 50 copies, signed by me and numbered (there are also some CGC options available, too!).

Oh, and they’re available RIGHT NOW through Comic Sketch Art, at the link below!

(Artist Foil Rendering)

Also! As an early subscriber to BLACK MARKET News, make sure you use the code “Radiant2021” for 20% off! Consider it a thank you for signing up early ;)

https://www.shop.comicsketchart.com/Radiant-Black-Exclusive-Variants_c416.htm

All right then! I think that’s a pretty good place to leave things! I’ve got a date with an Ultra! More soon! 

Kyle