The first issue of my SF comic book series, Dark Matter, hit the shelves today!  But you already knew that.

I chat about the series with We Love Cult’s Jason Tabrys: http://popculturezoo.com/2012/01/observing-dark-matter-1-with-joe-mallozzi/

Over at Pop Culture Zoo, I talk about the first issue with Joseph Dilworth: http://popculturezoo.com/2012/01/observing-dark-matter-1-with-joe-mallozzi/

Some reviews of the first issue:

Advance Review: DARK MATTER #1

Advance Review – Dark Matter #1 l ComicBookTherapy

Dark Matter #1 – Broken Frontier – Comic Book and Graphic Novel …

COMIC BASTARDS: Review: Dark Matter #1

Eric’s Dark Horse Comics Review: DARK MATTER #1 | The Daily …

Bullet Reviews #43: Peanuts, Godzilla and More!

Scarlet Spider, The Ray, and Dark Matter: New Comics For 1/11/12

Read More….

DARK MATTERS #1 Review «

Finally, spoke to mom today who checked out the first issue and had plenty of praise…for Ryan Hill’s colors!

Go get your desktop wallpaper here: Dark Matter :: Desktops :: Dark Horse Comics

I’m assuming you’re all reading your copies as I compose this blog entry.   Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

I swung by my local comic shop today to pick up a few titles (Lobster Johnson #1, Punisher MAX #21, The Shade #4, and sundry others) and spotted my book on the rack.  There was one copy left of the five the shop ordered and it was only 1:00 p.m.  My sister reports the first issue has sold it in most of the places her friends checked in Montreal.  Extrapolating from these statistical samples, we can conservatively estimate selling out every single issue produced by week’s end.  So go get ’em while they’re still available!

My cold symptoms have evolved  Not gotten better; gotten different. Whereas, a couple of days ago, I was suffering from stuffy sinuses and sore, dry throat, today I am dealing with chest congestion and a blissful buzz not unlike what one would experience following a third successive kamikaze shot.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring?  Hot flashes and itchy toes?

Lesson of the day: Always check the best before date on any half-finished jar of butter pecan butter you may find in the back of the refrigerator before consuming its contents, especially if you’re suffering from a cold that has compromised your sense of taste.

My boy Maximus is hanging in there, lounging about with the best of ’em and still showing interest in breakfast and dinner – provided I hand feed him table scraps.

38 thoughts on “January 11, 2012: Dark Matter #1 hits the shelves!

  1. Congrats Joe, you have a wonderful comic here. Not sure how many issues were brought in, but, sold the last remaining one on the shelf while I was in picking up my reserved one. That was about 1:30 at Gnu Books in Ajax, Ontario. Read it through, don’t know how you’re going to wrap it all up in just 4 issues!

    Elminster

  2. Crap. I have to wait since I get my books from North Carolina. I hope he sent my order out today; if so, I’ll get it by Friday. If not…I just might have to drive 45 miles to the nearest comic shop. 😛

    I hope it does well, Joe! I can’t wait to get my paws on a copy so I can give YOU the Cookie Monster treatment! 😈

    das

  3. Congratulations! I can’t wait to read it when my preordered copy arrives.

    I hope you feel better soon.

    Maximus certainly has you well trained.

  4. Joe, Loved the first issue! Lots of intrigue and tons of questions to be answered. The only bummer is that we only get 4 issues. I know the idea is to spin this off into a TV series, which is awesome and exciting, but would surely be a few years away from gracing my TV screen even if the series got picked up today. So great job so far; just wish we could get more than 4 issues in the foreseeable future.

  5. Downloading the digital copy of Dark Matter right now!

    Good luck on the cold – nothing really to do with that cold except rest, plenty of fluids, etc., etc. If it’s like the one I had early in December, it tends to drag on for several weeks before the symptoms go away entirely.

    Good to see Max still hanging in there!

  6. Best wishes on Dark Matter. Hope you get better soon. Glad Maximus is eating. 🙂

  7. P.S. Just finished the first Dark Matter – great story so far! I won’t discuss more until more people have finished reading it, though.

  8. Sorry to hear your cold is getting worse. Congratulations though on the comic book hitting the shelves. I wish I could comment….BUT MY COPY JUST GOT SHIPPED TODAY which means I won’t get it until next week. And with Monday being a government holiday, which means no postal service, I may not be seeing it until next Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Heavy sigh. But once I do have it I’ll be glad to comment on it.

    Glad Maximus is doing well. He certainly DOES have you well trained.

  9. Congrats on the comic, Joe. Comics aren’t my cup of tea, but they take a great deal of talent and determination to put together. I hope to see the results on TV in the near future.

    Just wanted you to know that I recently bought SGA on blu recently and have been watching the episodes on the mega awesome TV. I must say that the picture quality and sound are beyond amazing. I have a much greater appreciation of the detail and amount of work that went into putting this amazing show together. You and everyone else involved in the making of SGA shines through even more when watching the series.

    First Strike, for example, looks amazing. Ronon’s dreadlocks, the beam hitting the shield’s of Atlantis, McKay’s scruffy face and the Apollo dropping it’s WMD looks better than ever.

    Despite everything that’s been said, me included, a lot of love and work went into this series. Thanks goes to you and everyone involved.

    This series now sits on my shelf with the rest of my blu-ray collection and it’s a favorite which is high praise considering how critical I tend to be.

    I can’t recommend this series on blu enough. It’s well worth every dime.

  10. Sorry about your cold. I hate being sick. I thought older son was getting a stomach bug yesterday, but fortunately, he’s fine now. Can’t wait to get Dark Matter. I might try and get it Friday, but if not Friday, Saturday for sure.

    Hope you feel better soon!!!

  11. Congratulations on Dark Matter! This is a wonderful first step, and I hope the first of many good steps in the future (read–TV series).

    Tell Paul congratulations as well.

  12. Hi Joe!
    I wanna relate to you the story of what happened when I picked up my copy of Dark Matter today.
    I live in Montreal and go to school at Concordia, so today between classes I went to the closest comic book store which is 1,000,000 Comix on Pierce just off of Ste Catherine Ouest.
    I went in and asked for a copy and the guy behind the counter noticed your name on the cover and realised that he knew you.
    He said to the other guy behind the counter: “Isn’t this Doctor Doom guy?”
    and the other guy said yes.
    So he explained to me that he knew you because you had this giant statue of Doctor Doom standing on some castle and that they were impressed since they wouldn’t want something so monstrously large!
    So I wanted to relay to you that you’ve got at least three people here in Montreal reading and enjoying!
    Best of luck with the rest of the series and I can’t wait for issue #2!!

  13. Hey Joe,

    Made it to my first…AND the only one in my hometown…comic store. I needed to buy my grandson a birthday gift. No…they did not have…nor had they heard of “Dark Matter”.

    I took a photo of my favorite thing in the store.
    http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab253/cherluvya/ebfada1a.jpg

    They did not have the Batgirl assignment either. :o( Total loss for me…but a big hit for my grandson. He loves Green Lantern so I was relieved they had great issues available.

    I just received my new debit card in the mail…so I guess I will buy an electronic copy tonight. I did order a hard copy…and made sure that he knew I wanted the series.

    Comments will be soon. My family arrives again tonight. Not sure how many will be showing up..so time availability will be in question.

    Best to you Joe…and your sweet family,
    Always,
    Cheryl

  14. Joe, great job on Dark Matter! The artwork made me think of the Alien Movies. That was what I kept thinking throughout the issue. Can’t wait to learn more about the intrepid crew. Especially the powerful “seventh” member. I also seemed to pick up a Star Trek and SGU vibe as well. I hope you decide to make more than 4 issues. Congrats!

  15. Congratulations Joe and Paul Mullie on your big release! If you are too sick to celebrate, how is Paul celebrating? How many copies were printed in this first run? When do you have to have more issues ready to go? If you get your TV series based on Dark Matter and you become busy with that, will you hire someone else to continue writing the comic book series, or will you just squeeze out more stories in your spare time? This is a big day! Again, congratulations!

  16. Yay on Dark Matter! Dude I totally have that cold! The 23 wasn’t feeling hot, over Christmas had a sore throat and sniffles, got back the 26th and the coughing started, which became days and nights of chills and coughs (thought I had the Black Plague). After many doses of Robitussin it very slowly became the nasty cough I still have now nearly…however many day it’s been from Dec 23 to Jan 11. The doctor claimed I was “fine” and I stand by that despite the wretched nature of this cold.

    OMG what’s that in my cart? Why it’s a copy of Dark Matter! I have another friend who published this week so I’ll have plenty of reading for the snow that’s supposed to hit next week.

  17. Congratulations, Joe and Paul, on Dark Matter!
    (Is there a reason Paul has embargoed you from mentioning him on the blog, in general?)

    The art for Dark Matter has that 60s retro, James Bond-ish vibe going on. Cool.

    So glad Max has been eating again! 🙂 A little something warm to lay on will help keep him comfortable. TamDixon had good suggestions.

  18. Congrats on the comic Joe.

    Try Ivy thyme for the cold. As you can guess from the name its a herbal remedy that comes in a small bottle. You put 15 drops in a little water and take 3 times a day. It wouldn’t hurt to try – right?

    Oh, and before bed a Cointreau hot toddie. It slides down the throat.

  19. I’m downloading Dark Matter on my Thrive when I get home tonight. Looking forward to it!

    Good news on Max. Hang in there, buddy.

  20. Congrats Joe on Dark Matter! 🙂 I might check it out when it hit the shelves. 🙂

    Ugh…I know about sinus problems. I have had sinus problems since last November. I keep getting these congestion problems. I get the runny nose…and post-nasal drip thing. Ick. Not fun. I’ve tried just about everything except seeing the doctor. I rather try to take care of myself than pay doctor’s bills. I’ve tried decongestants. I’ve tried saline nasal sprays. I even have a humidifier in my room so can have (hopefully) a good night sleep. But…the nasal congestion just keeps coming back. All I’m doing is treating the symptoms. I wish this thing would just go away.

  21. Congratulations, Joe, on Dark Matter!
    Unfortunately, I have to wait for my copy. They said 2 weeks. Damn! But at least, I’m going to have one. Yeah!
    Sorry for the cold. Hope you feel better soon.

  22. AAARRRGGGHH!

    *mop-mop-mop*

    Two times – TWO times – in as many days, my washing machine has flooded my utility room floor. ARRRGGHH! *mop-mop-mop* Both times a different object fell into the utility tub (into which the machine drains), and plugged the drain. Both were different types of drain plugs; I think they fell out of the wicker cabinet above the utility tub, probably due to the vibration of the spin cycle. Thing is, that cabinet, and those plugs, have been there for 16 years, and never has this happened before. (Oh, sure…I’ve left the odd sock or washcloth in the tub and flooded the floor that way, but it’s been at least 5 years since I’ve done something stupid like that). The hamper in front of the utility tub caught about 2″ (it has air vents above that so anything more would have drained out), and a bucket under the sink caught about an inch or so, but the rest was aaaaaalllll over the floor. 😛

    On the bright side, that floor has never been cleaner! 😀

    😛

    das

  23. Hey Joe! Just finished watching this week’s movie assignment (Batman) on my Batelevision after I downloaded it from batTunes. I don’t know where Cookie’s going to even start with this one – awesome from start to finish. Way too self-aware to be be considered truly bad, it’s really has some over the top, laugh out loud moments.

    Can’t wait to discuss the review!

  24. Picked up the only three copies at 8th. Street Comics in Saskatoon today! Can’t wait to read it cousin!

  25. Aw, I have a ten year old pug myself. Every time I see Maximus it reminds me of Borris. They are still truckin’ They could be twin brothers!

  26. Also…. I named my baby girl Teyla. And she so lives up to the name. It is perfect. I miss Stargate of all kinds. I am dual Canadian American so I felt like I had to give you some kind of recognition!

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