Must Give Us Pause

Book One is Finally Here

Pause - Book One

Cover art by the great Tim Bradstreet.

If you’ve read my past newsletters, stopped by my table at a recent comic show, or have shared an elevator with me anytime in the last sixteen years, there’s a good chance you might already be familiar with my creator-owned series from Storm King Comics, John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Pause. While I won’t go over its harrowing origin story again (click here for that sordid tale), just know that although it took quite a while to get here, Volume 1 is finally in book stores now, and will be hitting comic shops this summer.

Pause centers around main character Henry Jacobs as time stops for everyone in New York City except for him. Only his touch can unpause people, but he can’t refreeze them. So when he and a small group of friends explore an eerily still Manhattan, it’s only a matter of time before he unpauses some of the wrong people. And that’s when this science fiction story takes a darker turn into thriller territory.

Book One contains the first six chapters of Pause. All told, the story will make up three trade paperback volumes. I’ve already finished scripting Book Two, and Conor Boyle, the fantastic artist on this series, has started work on the pencils. Conor keeps getting better and better, and I’m excited for everyone to see the twists and turns we have planned for you. Everyone in Pause has a secret, and half the fun is finding out what they’re hiding.

Since I have a tendency to talk about this book a lot, you might be wondering what makes it so special. Over the course of my career, I’ve written a few hundred other projects, so what sets Pause apart?

First and foremost, this is a creator-owned book. That means that these are my own characters. If a Pause TV show or film would happen to be released down the line, I would retain ownership (and maybe even be able to send one of my two kids to college - we’ll draw straws). With freelance work, ownership isn’t often the case, as the big companies will usually keep the rights to your creations. Writing without a notable share in the end result can often inhibit the creative process. Some people will hold back their best ideas in fear of losing the rights to them. I don’t think I’m necessarily one of those types, probably to the detriment of my bank account, but if you notice a jump in quality from when you read mainstream comics to when you read indie books, that might be why.

That said, the biggest reason I want to get Pause into your hands is that this is the first time I’ve really been able to write the way I’ve always wanted to write. I’ve done plenty of work in all-ages comics, and while I really enjoy those projects, they come with restrictions in subject matter as well as in dialogue. With the exception of a few short stories here and there, I haven’t been able to explore mature themes, include high-stakes tension, or dig deep into adult characterization. If Pause was a movie, it would be rated “R,” and there’s a lot of freedom in that. After a two and a half decades, I’m finally putting a book out into the world that shows how I write, and I couldn’t be more grateful to Sandy King, Sean Sobczak, and John Carpenter at Storm King for the opportunity.

I hope you’ll give the first volume of Pause a try. You can order it at your local book shop, big box store, or by clicking here.

From the Batcave

Aside from owning a few childhood Super Powers action figures in the 1980s, my Batman collection really started with comic books. Even as a kid, I was interested in tracking down the first appearances of Batman characters from eras well before my time.

So while my personal comic book collection includes complete runs of Detective Comics and Batman from the mid-1970s to today, here are a few of my “key issues” from earlier eras. I’ll dedicate a future From the Batcave to the oddball characters (I’m a big fan of third string weirdos in particular), but for now, here are a few of the classics.

The first appearance of Mr. Freeze, originally named Mr. Zero. His gun actually shot hot and cold in his first appearance.

The first Bat-Girl. Notice the hyphen. This was Betty Kane, niece of Batwoman, Kathy Kane.

The first appearance of the second Clayface (Matt Hagan). This issue must have been particularly tasty to whatever creature gnawed on its corner before I bought it. Luckily, the damage only affects the gutters, and none of the panels were digested.

The first appearance of Poison Ivy, signed by cover artist Carmine Infantino and interior inker Joe Giella. I met Joe at a North Carolina comic convention, but Carmine I had the good fortune to know personally in college. Carmine taught two of my classes at the School of Visual Arts. You had to pry instruction out of him at that point in his life, but when he got to talking, there was no better teacher of storytelling or panel composition.

I also had Carmine sign my first appearance of Batgirl. This is the Batgirl everyone knows and loves, Barbara Gordon.

I met Neal Adams several times over the years, and he gave me plenty of advice about how to navigate the business side of the comic book industry. I had him sign this first appearance of Man-Bat at an early MoCCA Art Festival in Manhattan.

The first Talia al Ghul, part of the original Ra’s al Ghul storyline.

I bought this first appearance of Ra’s al Ghul with store credit back at Manhattan’s Cosmic Comics during my freshman year of college. I brought it to a convention where inker Dick Giordano was set to appear. I’d met Dick before, but I was still disappointed when he couldn’t attend that particular show. As luck would have it, the legendary team of writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams showed up instead. Out of this batch, this book is easily in the nicest condition, but that hasn’t stopped me from reading it plenty of times over the years. It’s a comic book. That what it’s there for.

NEXT TIME: Inside my other big book of 2026, The Spark Experiment. Plus more from the Batcave…