Northwest Press

Christensen and Brill Named Two of Out Magazine’s OUT 100 for The Power Within

// November 17th, 2011 // // The Power Within

OUT Magazine revealed today that Charles “Zan” Christensen and Mark Brill—creators of the anti-bullying comic THE POWER WITHIN—have been recognized as two of 2011′s “OUT 100″, described by the magazine as an “annual salute to the year’s most inspiring people”. Other notable honorees this year include Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sandra Bernhard, Justin Bond, Dustin Lance Black, David Mixner, Harmony Santana, Chaz Bono, and Tim Gunn.

Christensen and Brill started work on THE POWER WITHIN in October of last year for 24-Hour Comics Day, an event where artists and writers attempt to create a complete 24-page comic book in 24 hours. Their story focused on a boy named Shannon who deals with bullying at school by escaping into a super-powered alter-ego but ultimately has to find the strength to face the harassment in real life.

The decision to do a comic that tackles antigay bullying was prompted by the previous month’s numerous reports of teen suicides linked to bullying and harassment. Those reports spurred Ellen Degeneres to speak out to raise awareness and Dan Savage to start the It Gets Better Project.
(more…)

Northwest Press Helps It Get Better

// November 1st, 2011 // // Rainy Day Recess, The Power Within

Today, I’m proud to let you know we made our first contribution to the It Gets Better Project from proceeds from the sale of David Kelly’s book, Rainy Day Recess. A portion of the sale of each book goes to help the organization which was started by Dan Savage in October of 2010 in response to a rash of teen suicides.

Funds collected by the It Gets Better Project benefit The Trevor Project, a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline, and GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educator’s Network, which works with educators, policy makers, community leaders and students on the urgent need to address anti-LGBT behavior and bias in schools.

In addition to our contribution to It Gets Better, today we sent out over 300 more free copies of our anti-bullying comic book, The Power Within to more than 20 schools, youth groups, and community centers around the country (and around the world!) These organizations work directly with kids, and contacted us to ask for copies of The Power Within to use as a teaching and outreach tool. We’re glad that the book is getting into the hands of kids who need its message the most.

▶

We’re a little startup publisher in a niche market, but we’re digging deep to keep giving back to the community we love. We urge you to do the same and make a donation if you can.

• Make a donation to the It Gets Better Project
• Make a donation to The Trevor Project
• Make a donation to GLSEN

Tell us how you’re pitching in in the comments section!

Jet City Comic Show

// September 24th, 2011 // // Events, Rainy Day Recess, The Mark of Aeacus, The Power Within

Northwest Press will be exhibiting for the first time at the Jet City Comic Show, with special guests David Kelly (Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics) and Mark Brill (The Power Within, The Mark of Aeacus).

The Gay Comics List loves The Power Within!

// September 19th, 2011 // // The Power Within

One of the biggest challenges in doing “advocacy” storytelling is striking a nice balance between getting your message across and telling a good story. If you fail, you end up with something much less entertaining than preachy. The most rewarding feedback we’ve gotten since releasing our anti-bullying book The Power Within is that we’ve succeeded in telling an engaging, honest story that resonates with readers, and isn’t just a “me too” message book. François Peneaud, who reviews everything, it seems like, on his site The Gay Comics List, has seen his fair share of preachy comics, and I’m glad to say that The Power Within wasn’t one of them.

As much as one can enjoy seeing queer characters in both mainstream and indie fantasy fiction, the problems of the real world should always take precedence. Sometimes in a ham-fisted way, and sometimes in a moving, heartfelt way that shows the sincerity and skills of the creators involved. Fortunately, it is the latter that happens with Zan Christensen and Mark Brill’s The Power Within, a comic about LGBT teen bullying.

Later, he says:

The Power Within goes well beyond what’s expected of a project done with the best intentions. It’s a moving depiction of what’s unfortunately the real life of some teenagers in our society, and the creators involved can only hope it will contribute, in its own ways, to the improvement of that situation.

Check out François’ site for the whole Power Within review, and take a look at his numerous other reviews of great LGBT comics. It’s truly a treasure trove.

The Power Within reviewed at Comics Bulletin

// September 17th, 2011 // // The Power Within

Jason Sacks at Comics Bulletin recently reviewed Mark Brill and Charles “Zan” Christensen’s anti-bullying comic, The Power Within and gave the book highest marks: five out of five silver bullets! We were especially pleased to note that the book had reached beyond the LGBT audience and resonated with a straight married man with three kids; we were able to portray the experience of being bullied in school as a gay teen in a way that everyone can relate to.

This is not a maudlin or preachy comic; instead The Power Within effectively puts readers inside the head of a young teenager who’s struggling to find his own unique way in the world. In some ways it doesn’t even matter if Shannon is gay; what’s more important is that he is a depressed outsider who feels hated by everyone around him.

He’s subject to bullying, but the bullying could just as much been because he’s a creative kid, or a brain, or handicapped, or even if he’s just depressed because his parents are getting divorced. What’s important is that Shannon feels like an outsider, like someone who will never be an insider. Because of this, he’s become the victim of bullying, and that bullying helps to lead a tremendous level of self-hatred in him.

Check out the whole review of The Power Within at Comics Bulletin!

The Power Within Reviewed at PostModernBarney

// July 28th, 2011 // // The Power Within

Dorian Wright at postmodernbarney.com has written a glowing review of the new Northwest Press book, The Power Within, written by Charles “Zan” Christensen with art by Mark Brill, and featuring a bunch of superstar special guests, including Gail Simone, Phil Jimenez and Greg Rucka.

The story exists strongly within the shadow of the recent media attention given to the high suicide rate in gay teens and the “It Gets Better” project, but successfully avoids any hints of maudlin emotion or preachiness. Instead the story feels very honest and is genuinely affecting. Christensen’s script deserves credit here, but so does Brill’s art, which has an approachable, cartoony feel that still allows for very expressive characters.

Read the whole review of The Power Within here! And make sure to request a copy from your local comics shop!

Read a preview of “The Power Within”!

// July 10th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

Check out this 10-page preview of Charles “Zan” Christensen and Mark Brill’s The Power Within right here on Northwestpress.com, thanks to an embedded Google Docs viewer. The book is available to order through Diamond Comic Distributors using item #JUL111189. Ask for it at your local comics shop!
(more…)

Down to the Wire on “The Power Within”

// May 13th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

Hey folks! We’re about two-thirds of the way through our fundraising period for The Power Within, and we need your help to get the rest of the way there!

Mark has been hard at work coloring the book, and has shared three new pages with me, which you can see at “The Power Within” Kickstarter page. I thought the art was good before, but Mark always brings a lushness to his color work that blows me away.

I’ll be spread the word about the book this weekend at OutlantaCon/Gaylaxicon 2011 in Atlanta (hope to see you there!) and will try to post some video from the show.

Help nurture “The Power Within”!

// April 20th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

UPDATE! I’ve been talking to some comics pals about contributing single-page strips or pinups to the project, and so far I’ve gotten commitments from Archie’s “Kevin Keller” creator Dan Parent, Gail Simone and Phil Jimenez (the latter two will be doing a page together!) I’m thrilled that these talented folks are on board to support the project, and can’t wait to see what they come up with!

When Mark Brill and I worked on an anti-bullying comic for 24 Hour Comics Day last October, we did it because we wanted to be part of the chorus of voices against bullying and harassment after the numerous gay teen suicides reported last year.

We didn’t quite finish the whole book in 24 hours, but the book is done, and we’re both so proud of it that we really want to get it out there, especially into the hands of kids who could benefit from its message that you can summon the power inside you and live through your toughest challenges.

Since Northwest Press is a graphic novel and collected editions publisher that publishes relatively few single-issue books (our most popular one, The Mark of Aeacus, is published in partnership with Class Comics), we are faced with a bit of a challenge in getting this book printed and distributed.

We’ve started a fundraising drive on Kickstarter to help with printing costs, in the hopes that we’ll be able to lower our per-copy price and be able to give away thousands of them to teachers’ groups, gay-straight alliances, gay youth groups, and other support resources for LGBT kids.

Pitching in $10 to our Kickstarter page will get you a signed copy of the book when it comes out, and we’ve got some really great gifts for bigger donors (all the way up to a ticket to join us at the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony next month!)

Please help support this project, and let’s let kids everywhere know that they can rely on their power within when they don’t think they have anyone else.

The First Aeacus “Superfan”!

// April 12th, 2011 // // The Mark of Aeacus

Dreamspinner Press author Ethan Stone recently went on a wild Las Vegas vacation with his friends Dawn and Laura, and while he was there, he and Laura decided to get tattoos. What design did Mr. Stone choose to adorn his shoulder? None other than the Mark of Aeacus!

Needless to say, Mark Brill and I are flattered beyond measure, and are putting a Northwest Press gift package together to send to Ethan to reward his loyalty. (I can only hope that he doesn’t start to develop supernatural powers and become a homicidal vigilante…)

Ethan’s latest book is called Flesh and Blood:

When a local man is attacked and the suspect is a hustler, Cristian knows there’s more to the case than meets the eye. His investigation will lead him into a maze of lies, deceit, and underage prostitution. But that’s only the beginning as people start disappearing and turning up dead. Cristian begins to realize that solving the case and stopping the murders won’t be enough. If he wants to make his new life with lawyer Colby Maddox work, he’ll need to face the demons of his past and put them to rest once and for all.

Check out more of Ethan Stone’s published work on the Books page of his website!