Wesley Bates thinks his life pretty much sucks. He’s landed at the bottom of his school’s popularity ladder, and bully Randy Stanford seems to be waiting around every corner.

The troubled teen thinks he’s found a way to escape his real-world problems when he stumbles upon strange doorways in Astoria’s local library that seem to lead into the extraordinary worlds from all his favorite books. Oz, Neverland, Wonderland — they’re all a reality with Wesley’s new discovery. Wesley teams with best friend Taylor Williams to embark on a great adventure, both ready to leave the drama of middle school behind.

But the two kids quickly find themselves embroiled in a centuries-old battle for the library and the magic hiding within. Now, fighting alongside the eccentric old man who’s vowed to protect the building’s power, the pair must help ward off an attack by a shadowy group with a strange tie to Wesley’s nemesis, forcing Wesley to face the fears he’s been dodging… and one of the most terrifying bullies of all time!

Exclusive to Amazon’s Kindle, The Librarian is a thrilling new series that provides kids an opportunity to experience the world’s most beloved fantasy novels in a brand new way – through the eyes of children just like them. And the fun doesn’t stop there! Librarian author Eric Hobbs has teamed with The Sylvan Learning Center and BookAdventure.com to launch The Librarian Book Club. Toward the back of the book, each copy of The Librarian contains an exclusive invitation to join. Open to students in grades K-8, the club will bring kids together from around the globe to compete in a monthly reading contest where they’ll have a chance to win exciting prizes: gift cards, autographed books, new toys, video games, DVDs, iPods…even a brand new Kindle Fire! All kids have to do is answer questions about the books they’re currently reading! That’s it! It’s that easy! Pick up the book an join the book club today!

Titled THE MAGIC OF RACE BAILEY, the series will focus on a young teen named Race who constantly finds himself struggling to break away from the long shadow cast by his father, Horatio Bailey: the most famous magician in the world. The two have a troubled relationship, but when his father dies in a freak accident on stage, a heartbroken Race begins to investigate some of the strange circumstances surrounding his father’s death, and the probe leads to a shocking discovery. Horatio was more than a world famous illusionist, he was actually a member of the Conjurors’ Coordinate, a fraternity of magicians who use their globetrotting acts as a cover for espionage…

Don’t want to give too much away, but that’s when it starts to get just a little bit interesting. We’re just about to start shopping this around to publisher so hopefully there will be a lot more to show you soon!

Just wanted to quickly let everyone know I’ll be set up in Artist Alley at this weekend’s Chicago Comic Con at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. I’ll be there on Friday and Saturday with copies of The Broadcast for sale along with some heavily discounted Awakenings books and a few copies of my story in this year’s Batman 80-Page Giant. If you’re going, drop by and say “hi” or “what’s up” or “whatever.”

See you there!

Most of you have been waiting for this announcement just about as long as I have. It’s been a long time coming. Awakenings is finally coming to print!

This August Arcana will be publishing a gorgeous trade paperback that collects the entire Awakenings story line in a single, full-color volume. Now, Arcana is going to be doing a very short print run on this one, but there are a number of ways you can guarantee yourself a copy now…

1) You can pre-order through your local comic shop using order code JUN11 0822. Some of you already have a pull list one file with your local shop and can simply add Awakenings to the list. Truthfully, the more people that do this the better. The market for indie comics is in a very bad place right now. Most comic shops won’t give Awakenings a shot unless fans bring it to their attention. You guys have been supportive of the book — and this is one small thing you can do to really help us get the word out.

2) You can pre-order through Amazon. Right now they have it marked down 32% and won’t charge you until it ships.

3) You can pre-order through DCBS. This one’s exciting. I wanted to do something special for those of you who have been waiting for this trade so long. Starting this week you can get Awakenings through DCBS at 45% off. However, each book will be signed. In addition, the first 50 readers who pre-order here will get a piece of original art from the book. That’s 171 pages of story, original art and a signed book for just $10.97!

Now, Batman.

I know DC has been in the news a lot this week. I’m as excited about it as you are. But while we’re all waiting to see what happens in September, I thought I’d let you know that I’ve just finished writing my first work with them and will have a short story appear in August’s Batman 80-Page Giant #1. I never imagined I would get an opportunity to write such an iconic character and am very proud of the story. I can’t wait to hear what you guys think.

As always, thanks for all your support. August is going to be a really fun month!

The new book will be available in next week’s Previews catalog. It collects the first four issues, is printed in full color and includes nearly 100 new pages of story that never saw print. I couldn’t be more excited about it, and yet, I’m left wondering what to do with all of the black-and-white issues I printed up back in the day.

Well, my loss can be your gain…

I’m looking to give all these extra comics away on a first-come, first-serve basis. All you have to do is e-mail me your mailing address, and I’ll put them in the mail. Print comics. Free. Delivered to your door.

So what’s the catch? Just two things.

1) That you’ll allow me to add your e-mail  to my mailing list. My newsletter is sent just four to five times a year. And…

2) That you’ll tell your local comic shop how much you enjoyed the book. So many indie comics get overlooked, especially in this economic environment. It’s very likely your shop won’t give Awakenings a second look unless someone lets them know it’s a book worthy of their time.

That’s it. It’s that easy. Those that are interested can e-mail me at hobbs . eric (at) gmail . com. Thanks!

“An intriguing character study.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“Hobbs’ brilliant, character-driven script weaves a tight psychological thriller that at once feels both intimate and epic. A deceptively simply, exquisitely crafted original graphic novel.” — Broken Frontier

“It is a Halloween tradition to replay Orson Welles’ WAR OF THE WORLDS broadcast. If a station near you doesn’t play it, try picking up this comic. It’s just as good.” — Ain’t It Cool News

“A powerful story.” — The Onion’s A.V. Club

“A mature, original, and deeply moving text, one that takes advantage of the unique affordances of the comics medium to tell a complex tale.”  – Gutter Geek

“It’s great to see a comic that is not only well told and interestingly illustrated, but also embraces the mythos of the American experience.” – The Outhousers

“Five stars!” — Las Vegas Weekly

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Reviews have been great across the board, and we just learned that THE BROADCAST is nominated to be on this years ALA/YALSA “Great Graphic Novels For Teens” list.

Noel and I are both extremely happy with the response to the book and hope you’ll give it a look if you haven’t already. You can pick it up pretty cheap on Amazon today.

In additional news, the colors on AWAKENINGS were finished last week so expect to hear about the huge collection we’re putting together for that soon.

For me this moment is always somewhat bittersweet.

There’s nothing better than seeing your story come together. At the same time, this is when I have to lock it in and move on to the next scene. No more scripting, no more notes for Noel. This is the point where I have to let go and be happy with the work we’ve done. Probably the most difficult step of all.

For instance, this scene saw the addition of one or two panels on each page. Obviously this means I need to review the dialogue’s placement, making sure it’s still appropriate given the page’s new layout.

From there I want to make sure the dialogue compliments the art. Sometimes Noel’s work isn’t exactly what I pictured in my head. Sometimes it will say enough that I can delete some dialogue. Other times, I need to add a line or two for clarity.

This scene saw a few minor tweaks. The biggest came on page 66. You may remember that initially there was no dialogue in the first panel. When I saw it, however, I didn’t think reader’s would understand the old man was coming out of his desk because he was angry and felt the addition of a line or two was called for.

Once I’ve finished tweaking everything I send a “lettering script” to my letterer with the art. He takes it from there.

Here’s a look at what one of these shortened scripts looks like…

****

PAGE SIXTY-FIVE

PANEL THREE:

Dawson (standing): PLEASE, TIM. YOURS IS THE ONLY HOUSE WITH A STORM SHELTER FOR TWENTY MILES.

TOM (on left): THE CHURCH IN TOWN HAS A CELLAR.

JACOB (far right): AN’ IT’S FILLED TEN TIMES OVER BY NOW.

PANEL FOUR:

TOM: I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU TWO WANT, I DO. BUT UNTIL MY DAUGHTER IS SAVE NONE OF THIS IS GOING TO BE OPEN FOR DISCUSSION.

PANEL FIVE:

JACOB: BUT MY DAUGHTER’S HERE.

TOM (off panel): I KNOW THAT, JACOB.

PANEL SIX:

DAWSON: CAN YOU LET US DOWN FOR NOW? AS SOON AS KIM SHOWS, WE’LL–

TOM (off panel): IT’S NOT GOING TO BE THAT EASY.

PANEL SEVEN:

JACOB: GODDAMNIT, SHARDER!

PAGE SIXTY-SIX

PANEL ONE:

TOM: YOU KNOW? I THINK I’VE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF THIS!

PANEL TWO:

KIM (off panel): DAD!

PANEL THREE:

TOM (far right): OH, THANK GOD.

PANEL FOUR:

KIM: IF I’D KNOWN…

TOM: I KNOW, SWEETHEART.

PANEL SEVEN:

JACOB: YOU TWO JUST REMEMBER WHO WAS HERE FIRST.

I know, I know. Someone shouldn’t get to work with an artist THIS talented on their first book. But hey, someone has to be the exception that proves the rule. Might as well be me.

Essentially, Noel takes the script and does a very rough version of the illustrated page. It’s a vital step in the process because it gives us a chance to make sure the story is being told visually.

While you want the art to work hand-in-hand with the dialogue that will eventually be included, a good artist will tell the story without a word on the page. Just look at the first set of layouts…

Already, we know three men are meeting behind closed doors (see how Noel stuck that panel in — and rightfully so).

We know that two of these guys are here to see the old man, and we know they’re pressing him about something (see how one of them is leaning forward, hands on the desk?)

We know it isn’t going well. Just look at the body language in panel five. Even in these rough drawings you can see he is getting upset.

And finally, we know the situation reaches a boiling point when the young guy finally snaps and pounds a fist onto the desk.

You’ll notice Noel added two panels to the second page. The last panel is a particularly important addition.

I initially wrote this page to end with Jacob’s dirty look — but showing Gavin and Eli as they watch Jacob storm away is a far stronger moment to end with. After all, Gavin and Eli are two of our most important characters. Leaving this scene without showing their dumbfounded reaction would have been a huge mistake.