Creator Owned Matters…
Wednesday October 19th 2022, 4:37 pmCreator owned works create art and meaning beyond just the pop… A reminder this exists… Volume 1…
“J.H. Williams III made his mark with Promethea, taking us into fictive universes that were more real than our own. In Echolands he builds on that and goes one step beyond: it’s every fictional world, each with its own artistic style, intersecting and exploding with JHW3 magic and crackle. I can’t wait to see where he and Haden Blackman are taking us — into a world in which anything can happen, and undoubtedly will.”
— Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, American Gods)
“Getting an eyeful is a massive understatement. I love looking at the drawings as they expand with more details emerging every time I look.”
— Debbie Harry (Blondie, Face It: A Memoir)
“Every once in a while a comic book comes along that is so complex and unique and expertly executed it pushes the medium forward in new directions and leads to invigorated interest in the medium of comics itself. ECHOLANDS is that comic.”
— Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Fire Power)
“The integration of image and story develops an archetypal language that’s here in these pages and in our subconscious simultaneously. The boundaries are pushed. I think I’ve seen some of these things in dreams.”
— Chris Stein (Blondie, Point Of View: Me, New York City, and the Punk Scene)
“Amazing. Amazing. An immersive, dizzying plunge through a world both fantastic and familiar, in a tour de force of no-brakes storytelling and visual wonder. ECHOLANDS is not to be missed.”
— Kurt Busiek (Astro City, Marvels)
“If there was not a single word on the pages, Echolands would be worth reading just to explore this lusciously detailed world of giants, vampires, wizards, armies, ghosts, pirates, robots, cowboys and other armies, all laid out in exquisite double page spreads by JH Williams that carry your eye from one end of the book to the other. But as a matter of fact, there are words, glorious words by JH and W Haden Blackman that tell the story of Hope and the “Red” power she cannot control; of the jewel she stole from the evil Demond; and her loyal partner in crime Cor. Oh, and did I mention “Old Chicago”? I am just two issues into this rollicking adventure filled with everything I have ever loved, I have a million questions, and I am hooked.”
— David Mandel, Executive Producer “Veep”
“Echolands is a dazzling, kinetic ride through an exquisitely realized fantasy world, bursting with graphic energy and excitement.”
— Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman)
“Echolands’ fallen fantasy San Francisco is painted as a monstrous blend of magic and technology, and reads like a blockbuster car chase.”
— Kyle Shutt (The Sword)
“The storytelling prowess on every glorious horizontal spread is a sprawling display of J.H. Williams III’s visionary talent and endless creativity. Flanked by equally adept partners in Blackman, Stewart, and Klein, attaining artistic heights rarely realized in this medium. In short: WOW.”
— Chris Ryall, writer/editor (Syzygy Publishing)
“Echolands is utterly gorgeous and completely compelling. A fabulous cast of characters, and a story that hits the ground running. I’m hooked, and I can’t wait for the next issue.”
— Kat Howard (Books Of Magic, An Unkindness Of Magicians)
“ECHOLANDS by W. Haden Blackman and JH Williams III is a high-stakes action/adventure in surrealist locales thick with reverb. It’s bustling with wayward characters and stars a hooded protagonist full of moxie, mirth and red magic. The bonus back matter is both counterpoint and secret code to the main story. ECHOLANDS is clearly their magnum opus.”
— Shelly Bond, Editor of Bitter Root, The Sandman: Overture and OffRegister.press
“One of the most remarkable, innovative, and engrossing uses of the medium I’ve seen. From the rich cast, a story that hooks you from page one and drags you in, to the labyrinthine page layouts that turn your head inside out to read them. There are few comics that deliver a genuinely unique experience, but this one really does, feeling at times like a top down tabletop roleplaying game, and at others a trippy immersive VR story, but always with the bounce and ease of reading that you would expect from a great comic. The boundaries of a comic page are always waiting to be pushed, and Echolands does this masterfully, hinting at what might be possible, making us excited to turn the page.”
— Leah Moore (The Doors: Morrison Hotel, Conspiracy of Ravens, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary)
“A few pages into Echolands and you can tell, that this book is absolutely dripping with ideas, visual genius and the unfettered imagination of a brilliant creative team. Be prepared to lose yourself in these pages, in this story and with these characters. Echolands is your new favourite comic, trust me.”
— Ram V (These Savage Shores, Blue In Green, Swamp Thing)
“Echolands is WONDERFUL, with amazing layouts and beautiful drawing and design. It’s right up there with the best of Belgian/French graphic novels (the highest compliment I can give, I think they have always had the best art). Really incredible work!”
— Colleen Doran (A Distant Soil, Sandman, and Snow, Glass, Apples)
“With complete admiration for J.H. Williams’ amazing prior work, let me say that there is nothing as wonderfully, surreally perfect as Echolands. It is the ideal combination of unbridled imagination with the sublime artistry of a master of comic book narrative storytelling. And it’s pure fun from beginning to end.”
— James Robinson (Starman, Scarlet Witch, JSA: The Golden Age)
