The Mythical Pantheon High vol. 3 is finally available!

Did you enjoy reading Pantheon High 1 and 2? Have you wondered what happened to Griffin, son of Hades or Grace, daughter of Tyr and all their friends? Your wait is over! All three volumes of Pantheon High are now available on Comixology.com!

Pantheon High vol. 3. Cover by Steven and Megumi Cummings

It was way back in 2011 that Tokyopop announced it was shutting down its U.S. publishing operations. As a result of the publisher’s difficulties, Pantheon High volume 3 never made it into bookstores. It was briefly available for free via browser on the TP website and for a few months via print on demand. Then nothing.

Because Tokyopop ended its publishing endeavors but never actually closed down or went bankrupt, they retained the rights to many of their original-English-language properties, including Pantheon High. As a result, the third volume was basically consigned to limbo (or some other mythical realm, many of which the kids visit in this book). Over the last few years, fans have emailed me hoping to get a chance to read the third book in the trilogy. Now, thanks to the rise of digital publishing, all three books are available on your computer, tablet or phone via Comixology.com.
https://www.comixology.com/Pantheon-High/comics-series/1284

Here’s the copy I wrote back when the book was first released:

Gimme a T-R-O-U-B-L-E! What’s that spell? Trouble, with a capital T. And that’s what Pantheon High’s got going for it as we head into midterm season. Fortunately our students have been hitting the books extra hard to earn their marks in heroism, and when you throw in an extra-curricular excursion to fine tune their fighting skills, there’s no doubt that Griffin, Grace, Aziza and Yukio are going to get an A+ in saving the world!

Honestly, it’s been a while since I wrote this and I’m looking forward to reading the book again. Here’s what I do remember: there are more mythological gods in this book than in either of the first two, so you’ll get to see many of your favorites in action and learn about some you may never have known. There’s also a series of jaunts from realm to realm, so you’ll get glimpses of some of the coolest worlds from a variety of world mythologies. Plus there’s some kissing. And mind control. Enjoy!

Moving On From Tokyopop

Yesterday, I read a great piece from comics/TV/book writer Chuck Austen on Comic Book Resources about how those who created books for Tokyopop need to put Tokyopop in the rear view and move on with their careers. Chuck’s a friend and though he’s faced more than his share of criticism, he’s a great writer and true professional. I’m proud of the fabulous sci-fi book Flywires he wrote for me back when I was his editor at Humanoids Publishing. After I left Humanoids to pursue my writing career, Chuck and I both ended up writing manga (Japanese style comics) series for Tokyopop. Chuck’s coming of age series Boys of Summer was pure fun. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you know my series Pantheon High about a high school for demigods in present-day Los Angeles.

The kids of Pantheon High

What you may not know is that Tokyopop stopped publishing their line a few years ago. They didn’t go out of business – they just stopped publishing. Because the company never shut down, a lot of talented creators ended up with their books in limbo. The third volume of Pantheon High was available briefly as a print-on-demand book. I’m glad I bought one for myself before it became unavailable. Despite several attempts, I’ve been unable to regain the rights to the series.

The gist of Chuck’s piece is that those of us in this situation need to move on because Stu Levy clearly has no intention of letting go. It’s up to us to put our creative energy elsewhere. It particularly struck me when he said, “They gave us an opportunity to get our work out there, to develop fans.” As much as I’d like to have the ability to do something with Pantheon High, I signed a contract that prevents me from doing so. I don’t regret making that deal because Pantheon High was my first opportunity to get paid to write a comic book. Though I’d been talking to Marvel editors for over a year, I didn’t get my first offer to write Hulk comics until after Pantheon High hit stores. Having a 160-page book on the stands helped me get other work.

I wrote 480+ pages of Pantheon High in total and like Chuck said, that’s an achievement in and of itself. But I didn’t stop there. I’ve written many, many things since then, from comics and graphic novels to video games and prose. I have several creator-owned series in the works right now and I’m planning to launch my first Kickstarter this summer. Ironically, my in-progress series The Girl With No Name was with Tokyopop but my co-creator Eden Benton and I were able to get the rights back because the first volume was never actually published.

Like Chuck says, “It is upsetting. It is heartbreaking. We have every right to be angry. We deserve to have our creation(s) back. But we never will, and none of these entirely justifiable feelings help us now.” Nobody likes getting the short end of the stick but sometimes that happens in business. The trick is to keep on doing what you love and to keep on doing it well. Learning from your past is probably a good idea as well. I’d walk away from the terms of my Pantheon High contract if those were on the table today. Back then, at the start of my career, it made sense and it was worth it, no matter how much I miss Griffin and Grace and the other kids at Pantheon High. That series got my career started. Now, it’s time to focus on the future.

NY Times bestseller – World Of Warcraft: Shaman

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: SHAMAN Written by Paul Benjamin, Art by Rocio Zucchi.

In this tie-in to the World of Warcraft Cataclysm game expansion, the elements of Azeroth are out of control, unleashing devastating natural disasters that threaten to tear the world asunder.

All hope rests with the shaman, who are able to commune with the elements. Muln Earthfury, the shaman leader of the secretive Earthen Ring, attempts to pacify the elements — but his pleas fall on deaf ears. The elements are unresponsive, full of confusion and chaos. The Earthen Ring is riddled with doubt. Have the shaman lost their ability to corral and guide the elements?

192 PGS./Young Adult

If you dig playing WoW or just like reading awesome stories where monsters beat each other with hammers and magic sticks, you can buy this book right here: World of Warcraft: Shaman on Amazon.com

Pantheon High Vol. 3

Pantheon High 3

It’s time for midterms in Vol. 3 of Pantheon High, now available online and for digital download! Your favorite modern day demigods from Greek, Norse, Egyptian and Japanese mythology are on an extra-curricular field trip to legendary realms hoping to get an A+ in saving the world. Too bad for them that these half-god kids have to go up against their 100% divine parents!

Available via Comixology.com

Starcraft: Frontline Vol. 3

Starcraft: Frontline Vol. 3

This volume continues the canon tale of a psychic child on the run in the brutal StarCraft universe. The manga anthology collects four stories, one of which is co-written by me and writer/video game designer Dave Shramek, with art by the talented Hector Sevilla. In “War-Torn,” young psychic Colin Phash is on the run and separated from his father, hiding among thousands of refugees on a backwater moon. Even if Colin can escape being captured by a fierce Dominion wrangler, how can he stop being haunted by the trauma-induced nightmares his telepathic powers pick up from everyone around him?

Featuring: Josh Elder: writer of Mail Order Ninja; Ramanda Kamarga: artist of Psy-Comm; Grace Randolph: Writer of World of Warcraft; Seung-Hui Kye; Ren Zatopek; Noel Rodriguez; Dave Shramek; Hector Sevilla; and Paul Benjamin.
192 PGS.
Interested in buying the book? Click here: Amazon.com – Starcraft: Frontline Vol. 3

Pantheon High Vol. 1

Welcome to Tokyopop’s Pantheon High! You’re not here because you’re smarter, faster or stronger than other kids. You’re better than other kids because you’re the child of a god and a mortal. As a demigod, you’ll get the best education a child of Greek, Norse, Japanese or Egyptian divinity can receive. Here at our Los Angeles based campus, you’ll study subjects ranging from Algebra to Mythstory under noted instructors such as Greece’s oldest mortal, Tithonus, and Japan’s mistress of combat, Ms. Hitomi Hachiman. And let’s not forget our very own Fighting Chimeras–divine league basketball champions two years running. Keep at ’em, Coach Hercules! You may have heard prophecies or seen visions of a great doom looming over the school, but the End Of All Things is no excuse for tardiness and absences will go on your permanent record. The challenges at a school for demigods are great, but if anyone can face them it’s the students of Pantheon High!
Interested in buying the book? Click here: Amazon.com – Pantheon High Vol. 1

Star Trek: The Manga Vol. 2

Star Trek: The Manga Vol. 2: Kakan ni Shinkou

Manga. The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise… Manga-style art and Star Trek tales collide again in this next volume of TOKYOPOP’s voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise, commanded by Captain James T. Kirk.

Once again ten artists and writers from across the artistic spectrum deliver brand new tales featuring the classic Star Trek line up. In Kakan ni Shinkou Kirk is put on trial for crimes he has yet to discover… Uhura demonstrates the true power of communication… Bones gets to the core of Vulcan emotion… Scotty has to extract dilithium crystals from a mine in the middle of a war zone… and an alien delegation uses the Enterprise as a vessel of deception!

Featuring: Wil Wheaton, EJ Su, Diane Duane, Don Hudson, Christine Boylan, Bettina Kurkoski, Mike Wellman, Nam Kim, Paul Benjamin, Steven and Megumi Cummings.
211 PGS.
Interested in buying the book? Click here: Amazon.com – Star Trek Manga Vol. 2

Pantheon High Vol. 2

Get ready, Pantheon High! It’s homecoming season, and that means it’s time for our Fighting Chimeras to whale on Gilgamesh High. Our demigods from Greek, Norse, Egyptian and Japanese mythology are gonna demolish those Mesopotamian, Aztec, Indian, and Pacific pantheon punks. With Yukio’s luck on our side and Aziza El Ra cheerleading, we can’t lose! Let’s win this one for Grace and Griffin, trapped in a journey through the underworld that could mean permanent death. But stay alert–the evil gods have plans for the school, and homecoming is the perfect time for them to strike!

Interested in buying the book? Click here: Amazon.com – Pantheon High Vol. 2

Here’s what Publishers Weekly had to say about Pantheon High Vol. 1:
Stunning in its ambition, Benjamin’s detailed story imagines all of the characters of the various world mythologies living together in one universe-and sending their children to the same high school in Los Angeles. Sullen Grace is the daughter of Tyr, Norse god of war; reckless Griffin, child of Hades and raised by adopted human parents, flirts with suicide and tries to bribe Charon to take him home; Yukio, son of the Japanese goddess of luck, skirts by on his innate good fortune; and Aziza, daughter of Egyptian sun god Ra, can use her body to generate intense heat. When a group of renegade mythological students puts the rest of the student body to sleep so that they can carry out their plan to ascend to godhood alongside their parents, the four fight back together. There are laughs aplenty throughout the school day, and there is something utterly charming about immortal beings talking fluid 21st-century teenspeak. The intricate and detailed artwork includes tons of clever puns and historical references hidden throughout; a much-needed glossary at the end points out the mythical background of many of the sight gags and references. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work that entertains with intelligence and humor.